Brief：Chinese property developer, Country Garden added to the flood of Chinese investment headed overseas by purchasing a development site in Sydney for AU$73 million (US$65.76 million). The acquisition is Country’s Garden’s first in the Australian market.

Chinese property developer, Country Garden added to the flood of Chinese investment headed overseas by purchasing a development site in Sydney for AU$73 million (US$65.76 million). The acquisition is Country’s Garden’s first in the Australian market.

The purchase of the 17,580 square metre site in a high-end area of northwest Sydney was made by Country Garden Australia Pty, Ltd, an Australian subsidiary of the Hong Kong-listed, Foshan-based developer. The site has potential for the developing approximately 815 apartments with associated retail, depending on government approval.

Guangdong Developer Profiting Overseas

Country Garden is one of the five biggest developers in southern China’s wealthy Guangdong province, and has already made successful overseas investments in Malaysia. Last year the real estate company had announced sales of RMB 106 billion.

The sale of the property by Australia’s Goodman Group was handled by real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle. Noting the trend towards Chinese investment in Australia’s property sector, Jones Lang’s Director for International Investments, Ben Hunter said, “This acquisition by Country Garden follows significant activity by other major Asian property development companies in the Australian market.”

Chinese Investment in Australia Up 222 Percent

According to recent studies, Chinese investment in Australian property increased by 222 percent from 2012-2013, reaching $590.1 million last year.

Shanghai’s Greenland Group has already made major investments in Sydney and Melbourne, with its Sydney project selling RMB 1.5 billion (US$245 million) in apartments in one weekend late last year.

Research published by Jones Lang LaSalle Research shows that Chinese outbound investment into commercial real estate increased globally by 124 percent to USD7.6 billion in 2013 with Chinese investors having been most active in Australia, Singapore, the US and the UK.